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April 12, 2012

Survivor: One World, "Go Out with a Bang"

For many seasons on Survivor, the post-merge episodes involved surprise twists and back stabbing as the players started playing an individual game. A strange thing has happened during the past three seasons; this part of the game has grown stale. Too many players are content to stick around as long as possible and don't actively try to win the top prize. It's not exactly clear why this has happened. One factor might be casting the show with more novices who aren't as familiar with past seasons. Another could be the way Boston Rob took control in the Redemption Island season and decimated the other team by pushing tribal loyalty. Jay's exit this week confirms what we already knew: the five-person female alliance is running the show. There's still a slim possibility the other players will find a way to turn the table, but it's not looking very likely at this point. For more details, check out my review of the latest episode for Sound on Sight.

Here are some other interesting moments that I didn't address in my review:

After a rough start, Kat has been a surprisingly effective player. When Jay presses her to confirm their bond, she seems to agree but actually says very little. Her response is one of the main reasons Jay doesn't realize he's on the chopping block.

Tarzan exits the immunity challenge so quickly this week that he doesn't even get the chance to take Jeff's food temptations. It's possible that he's faking his ineptitude, but it seems pretty unlikely.

I really hope the DIY challenges don't become the norm in future seasons. It's possible they're a necessity due to Jeff's preparations for his talk show, but they're universally hated at this point.

I'm still waiting to see a grueling old-school endurance challenge. The food turned the battle for immunity into a contest between just a few determined people.

4 comments:

I like this: "I'm still waiting to see a grueling old-school endurance challenge." It immediately made me think of that challenge from some years back where the teams were tethered to each other and had to do laps while carrying sandbags while trying to catch the other team that started out half a lap ahead of them. I seem to recall James and perhaps Jon Penner there. That was an awesome challenge.

I love that challenge. I think they first used it in the Palau season (the one where the one tribe decimated the other one). Yes, I am a dork. They've used it again a few times over the years, so they may have brought it back for Fans vs. Favorites (which had James and Penner). Speaking of Palau, the craziest endurance challenge was at the Final 3 that year. Tom Westman and Ian were out there like 13 hours, and it could have gone longer. There's a reason that hasn't been used again. Probst did not look happy.

For that Tom and Ian one, they were out in the water, but what were they doing? And didn't Tom eventually convince Ian to give up, or Ian decided to give up as apology for something he did earlier in the season? Cut to: Tom winning shortly thereafter...

From what I recall, I think they had to lean back against a pole and stand on a small ledge near the water. What the challenge guys didn't expect was that Tom and Ian found a way to lay on them and get in a comfortable position. Yes, Ian decided to quit, which was sad because he was a really strong competitor. He was as much the reason for their tribe's dominance as Tom. He was an emotional mess by the end, though. The third player was Katie, and she gave him a lot of trouble because he didn't take her on a reward challenge. Around the same time, Tom found out Ian had mentioned they should take him out, even though he never voted for Tom. Tom flipped out and got extremely self-righteous, and he was really giving Ian crap during the whole challenge. I think that (combined with not thinking clearly due to being hungry and tired) was why Ian quit. I'm surprised he hasn't come back, especially with some people returning 2 or 3 times. He'd be a good choice for some type of superstars season.